Certain dog breeds still getting a bad rap

SAN ANTONIO — Monica Ramos was having renovations done on her home. She has three dogs: a lab, a pit bull and a Yorkie. The lab is the dominant dog in the home, she says. Her contractor, however, asked her to confine her pit bull because they found her “intimidating.”

During the renovation, one of Ramos' nieces came over to play. During some active play time, her niece started to tumble over. The contractor was nearby and quickly grabbed the little girl to keep her from falling. The lab lunged at the contractor to protect the niece.

Ramos quickly stopped the dog and nothing happened. But she chuckled at how the contractor was worried about the pit bull and had no concerns whatsoever about the lab.

When it comes to dog breeds, everyone has an opinion about a specific breed's personality traits. Many people will say a particular breed is good around children and babies; still others will caution against dog breeds that you should “always be careful around.”

Mostly, these are opinions based on a one-time encounter with a breed or worse yet from misinformation that has been acquired from media stories. The problem is, not all breeds are treated equally in the press.

Naturally, this influences how we feel about certain dog breeds.

A few years ago, The National Canine Research Council tracked media stories to see how different dog breeds were covered. Only one newspaper in 2007 covered the story of a mixed-breed dog that killed a 16-month-old baby. Only one newspaper covered the story of a Labrador mix that critically injured a 70-year-old man. But they found more than 230 media stories on two pit bull terriers and a Jack Russell terrier altercation.

Apparently, a woman left her sliding glass door open so her Jack Russell could go in and out of the home. Without a fenced backyard, this roaming terrier attracted two other roaming terriers. They all walked into the house and a fight among the dogs ensued. No one died or was severely injured; the woman had a few minor injuries from trying to break up the fight.

The reason this story got national media attention was because two of the dogs were pit bulls. Let's face it; if two poodles had followed the Jack Russell into the home and gotten into a fight, it would have remained a local story, if a story at all.

So don't judge a dog by his or her breed. Nearly all of Michael Vick's former dogs are living in homes, working as therapy dogs and overall being good citizens.

Always confine your dogs, however, when strangers are in your home. All dogs have the instinct to protect their families, even a little Yorkie.

Send your pet stories and questions to cathy@petpundit. com. You can read her blog, Animals Matter, at http://blog.my sanantonio.com/animals/. Cathy is the author of several children's books.